


dance me into love

by ekleipsis



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, bad dancing, clumsy Nursey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:48:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24387718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ekleipsis/pseuds/ekleipsis
Summary: Dex’s moment of clarity comes to him mid-kegster, of all places.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Comments: 18
Kudos: 178





	dance me into love

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first fic i've actually finished in.... forever? lol my other wips are crying  
> anyway i wrote this as a warm up but i actually like how this turned out so enjoy!  
> rated T for the 3 swear words lol

Dex’s moment of clarity comes to him mid-kegster, of all places. And although it’s slightly ironic, he’s not surprised. There’s something mystical about kegsters– a certain magic in the air that can only be curated by the mix of free-flowing alcohol, the liminality of midnight hours, and music that your body feels more than hears. If anything, he almost gets more drunk on that than the tub juice.

He’s just past tipsy, slightly more sober than Nursey, and they’re both swaying to the upbeat pop song that’s blasting through the speakers. Dex barely has to lean in for Nursey to hear him, and the proximity is intimate in a way he never thought possible for the two of them, and yet. Here they are.

“You’ve got a pretty good sense of rhythm,” Nursey is saying over the music, “You know. For a white guy.” 

Dex rolls his eyes and shoves him playfully. “You’re not so bad yourself, for a klutz.” 

It’s a million times lighter and friendlier than anything he ever directed at Nursey their freshman year, and also a million times fonder. The realisation makes Dex smile.

“I was kinda expecting better moves from you, Nurse. I mean, you _have_ had three years to get on my level,” he continues, then grins before moving his body in the most embarrassing ways he can think of. 

Nursey laughs then schools his face into as serious of an expression as he can. His lips are twitching, though, and there’s a glint in his eye that Dex recognises from all the times they’ve chirped and challenged each other. “You think you’re a better dancer than me, bro?”

Dex scoffs and doesn’t even try to fake his smugness. “I know so.” 

“Oh, you wanna go?” Nursey says, wiggling his eyebrows and grinning devilishly. “Dance-off, bro. You, me, right now.” Then without breaking eye contact with him, he brings his hands up to his armpits and slowly sticks out his head, before frantically flapping his arms and kicking his legs back. 

Dex dissolves into laughter. Nursey’s jerking his head back and forth and spinning on the spot in a frantic imitation of a chicken, and Dex is shaking so much he has to hold himself against the wall to breathe. 

“Stop!” he gasps. “Stop! This is a crime against dancers everywhere!” 

Nursey just grins and shakes his head. “Chill, Dexy, I gotta let the world see these sweet moves,” he says before starting to punch his arms out into the air. 

Dex starts to protest some more, but then he hears an indignant, “That was my fucking face!” which only sets him off again. Trust Nursey to hit some poor stranger.

“Oh, shit, my bad,” Nursey says, and the music drowns out the rest of his apologies. Dex has to wipe a tear from his face, and he’s laughing so hard that he loses his balance and stumbles backwards. Thankfully he doesn’t hit anyone and catches himself against the wall.

“Who’s the klutz now?” Nursey muses as Dex brushes himself off. 

“Fuck off, Nurse,” he says without bite. But then he makes the mistake of looking at Nursey. 

He sees his eyes shining with mirth, softer around the corners with laugh lines, his lips caught between words of exasperation and suppressing a laugh, sees the fondness he’s seen whenever he’s managed to make him smile. 

But it’s then, God, it’s _then_ – that Dex realises: it’s the same fondness he’s seen on Chowder. And Bitty. And his mom, and Jack, and Farmer, and Shitty and Lardo, and– 

He almost stumbles again. 

Nursey catches him by the arm. “Woah, steady there,” he says, “Do we need a Dex patrol now, captain?” 

Dex barely registers his words, still processing the millions of thoughts racing through his mind. He stares at Nursey in shock. “Oh my god,” he says softly. And when his brain finally catches up, he says it again. Smiling, this time. “Oh my god, you’re in love with me.”

Nursey blinks. “What?” he says. He looks just confused and happy enough that Dex almost misses the panic in his eyes. But he doesn’t, and he knows Nursey heard him. 

“You’re in love with me,” he says to himself, a little dizzy, a little giddy. He shakes his head and looks at Nursey. He can’t stop staring at Nursey.

"What?" Nursey is saying, and the panic is still there but so his smile, and it's growing, because Dex’s is too. "What?"

Dex reaches a hand up to Nursey’s neck and gently tugs him towards him. Nursey’s eyes go wide. But he goes willingly, and Dex’s chest goes warm. “I said,'' he starts, close enough for Nursey to hear, but far enough that he can still take in his whole face, “You’re in love with me.” He might be blushing, but he’s never been so sure of something, and he can’t look away from Nursey. Funny, clumsy, beautiful, _loving_ Nursey, who’s stuck halfway between mortified and hopeful.

Nursey swallows. "No, I'm not," he says, but they both know he's lying. 

Dex feels his smile grow up to his ears. “Yes, you are,” he says matter-of-factly. He brings a hand to Nursey’s waist and pulls them closer together. Nursey braces himself against the wall and Dex grins wider. “Face it, Nurse, you’re in love with me.” He’s lightheaded from the realisation, and he has to stop himself from yelling it to the world. Because each time he says it, his chest tightens and he’s almost full to bursting with love. “I know you’re in love with me.” 

Nursey sticks out his chin defiantly, staring at Dex full-on. “So what if I am?” But his eyes are shining, and he tentatively puts an arm around Dex, bringing them closer until their noses brush.

“That’s embarrassing,” Dex says, leaning towards him ever so slightly.

“You’re embarrassing,” Nursey says, but the chirp falls flat because Dex has long since learned to recognise his blushing.

He pulls him closer until his lips are hovering just an inch away from Nursey’s. “Hm, eloquent.”

Nursey laughs a little breathlessly. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” And Dex laughs too.

“You know what, Poindexter?”

“What, Nurse?”

“You can go fuck yourself.” Then Nursey kisses him, and the world around them melts away. They meet in the middle, and where Nursey is touching him, Dex’s skin is aflame. 

Nursey pulls away to breathe, looking every bit as flustered and giddy as Dex feels. “Okay, maybe I am in love with you.”

Dex kisses him again, and he’s smiling so much it hurts. “Good,” he says against his lips. “I’m in love with you too.”

And the smile that Nursey gives him is so blinding that Dex has to kiss him again. And again. And again.

**Author's Note:**

> message to the frogs gc from chowder: [attached pic of dex and nursey making out] get ready to pay tf UP, bitches!!!!!!! we still haven't bought that dryer :)))))))))


End file.
